ANNALISE | Dallas Winston

twenty-three

—
TUESDAY

i'm awoken by a cold breeze coming through my window. i reach out for dallas with a groan, wanting to use his body for heat.

i open my eyes when i realize the bed is empty. i sit up and rub my temples, wondering when he left. i look over to my clock and see there's about two hours until school.

i might as well stay up. i get up and shut my window, locking it. i then stand in front of my full body mirror, looking at myself.

my hair is all over the place and my bags are quite dark. i blink a few times, trying to wake myself up.

i sloppily make my bed then head to the bathroom for a morning shower. i rinse my hair and wash my body and face, only taking a few minutes.

i turn off the water and open the curtain, stepping out. i wrap my towel around my body and wrap one on my head to dry my hair.

i then walk back to my room, turning on my record player and playing the vinyl dallas had gotten me. i sit at my vanity, applying moisturizer and chapstick.

i take off the towel and massage my hair with it a bit then throw it on my bed. i take my brush out of the drawer and untangle my hair.

with my body towel still draped on me, i strut to my dresser, pulling out my jeans from yesterday. i open the top drawer, taking out a plain white tee-shirt.

i put those on my bed as i walk over to my closet taking out a vest that i thrifted. it's checkered black and white.

i grab underwear and a bra, throwing all my clothes on. as my hair air dries, i decided that i'll go make breakfast for everyone.

i turn off my record player and leave my bedroom. once i make it to the kitchen, i get out a pan, a spatula along with eggs and sausage.

the eggs make a sizzling noise immediately after being put on. i put some sausages on next to them and let it sit on medium for a moment.

the plates clink together loudly as i get them out of the cupboard.

"morning, early bird" i hear from behind me. i smile at darry who's walking over to the fridge.

"morning" i smile at him. "you think today could be my last day? i'd like to go out and do stuff."

he leans over my shoulder to see what i'm cooking. "i'll think about it" he says, walking back to wake up pony and soda.

i finish the first batch and put it on a plate, then sit it to the side. i put some more eggs and sausage on and as those cook, i put the first plate on the table and then grab ketchup from the fridge.

ponyboy, sodapop and darrel all come out. soda and pony sit at the table, but darry's throwing a shirt on.

"i got work a little early, so i won't be eating breakfast. i'll see y'all later" he says. we say our "love you's" and he leaves.

i look over at pony who's lying his head on the table, tucked in his arms. sodas just staring at his plate.

"oh, forks, sorry" i say as i bring over pony's plate, along with forks. soda thanks me groggily and the two begin eating.

i cook up my plate and put darry's away. my food finish's quickly and i join the boys at the table.

"so," pony starts "how are you gonna tell everyone else about you and dal?"

i stare down at my plate "good question.." i haven't really thought about it. i'd like to talk it over with dallas, honestly.

"maybe i'll just wear his necklace and see if anyone notices" i say, taking a bite of my breakfast.

we talk about our plan for the day, they asked how early i got, small random things that no one really cares about.

i ended up not having enough time to clean up the dishes after breakfast, so i just left them in the sink for now.

i went to my room and brushed my hair one more time and then did my bangs by curling them with a straightener.

i threw on some concealer, powder, mascara and a nude colored lipstick. i walk back to the living room and see pony and soda waiting for me on the couch.

"let's hit it" i say, throwing my back over my shoulder. sodapop grabs his dx hat off the hanger near the door and then we get in the car, soda driving us as usual.

"hey, no sneaking out of school today, got it? lucky darry didn't get any calls.." soda says, speaking to me- obviously.

"yeah, yeah, whatever" i say. "slow down a little or you're gonna get another ticket, aye?" i tease him.

he's gotten a few tickets, he doesn't really pay attention to the speed limit. 

finally, we arrive and we say our goodbyes. pony, as per usual, splits off to his school friends.

this time, i see hayden at her locker! hayden isn't a close friend, she's really only someone i talk to at school.

i don't have many friends here, other than steve and two-bit. hayden isn't someone i would hang out with outside of school.

sometimes i wish i could get close with a girl like that, i wish i could experience the best friend type of thing, but a lot of people are intimidated by me cause of the boys.

i've gotten close to having a friend like that a few times, or so i thought; they just used me to try and get with one of the boys. usually dallas or sodapop.

"where were you yesterday?" i ask hayden, coming up from behind her.

"oh, hey, i stayed home; had to take care of my little brother" she says, putting books in her bag and then shutting her locker.

the 3 minute bell rings and people begin walking to their classes. "i'll see you at lunch, yeah?" she says.

we dont have any classes together this semester, unfortunately. i always end up working alone in group projects, but i've started to not really care.

i go to my first period, english.

class had been going for about 5 minutes, but it's interrupted by dallas walking in the door.

dallas really only attends school on special days, or just once a month about.

"winston," the teacher greets "how lovely to see you" she says sarcastically. dallas always causes trouble on the days he shows.

dallas struts to the empty desk behind me, not taking his eyes off me as he does so.